i've had slightly higher than normal coolant temps since the last service, so i decided to drain and replace my coolant.
Based on a full system capacity of 4 gal (15.2L), and the best water wetter mix ratio being 1 ounce per quart, and the recommended 15% coolant mix (for my hot weather), i've worked out the following mix:
Motorcraft Premium gold coolant: 0.6 gal (2.27L)
Redline Water Wetter: 0.125 gal (473ml)
Distilled Water: 3.275 gal (12.4L)
so i removed the overflow tank cap, and removed the radiator drain bolt..
coolant started rushing out into an oil collector under the car, and when it stopped i tried to blow into the overflow tank.
that did push a whole lot of more coolant out, till i got to the point that i was blowing straight through (by the sound of it!)
in any case, i left this while working to change my motor mounts, and got back to it half an hour later or so, and it had stopped dripping completely.
so i closed the drain bolt and started filling up.
all the coolant went in
all the water wetter in
and only 1.5 gal of water went in before the overflow tank filled up
i cranked up the engine and the water level in the overflow tank went down an inch or so, and the engine started to heat up, so i turned it off and topped it up with some more water till the tank was full again
i repeated the process a couple times, and finally barely managed to squeeze in something like quarter a gallon of water if not less.
at that point i started the engine and removed the coolant temp sensor from the middle of my whipple water cross (it's almost like the stock unit, with a bleeding nozzle which i've removed and installed the Autometer coolant temp sensor instead, as it fit right in)
and -for the lack of better options- proceeded to blow into the coolant reservoir
air started coming out of the top of the water cross, then as coolant started squirting out, i fit the sensor back in.
the overflow tank level went down by a couple inches, so i filled it up with water and called it a day.
sure enough my car runs a lot cooler
i went for a drive around town, gunned it quite a few times expecting the coolant temp to jump up to 225F or so (which it used to).. it barely got to 195, fans kicked in.. and less than a minute after i eased off the pedal (still coasting on the highway) the coolant temp went back down to 180
beautiful!
but it's pretty obvious my coolant mix is still not right, as i ended up mixing frensh coolant and water wetter, and a little bit of water with a couple galons of stale coolant (which has gold coolant, water and water wetter too!)
i know it's almost impossible to drain ALL the coolant out without taking the engine apart, but i'm sure there has to be a way to drain at least most of it..
any ideas?
Based on a full system capacity of 4 gal (15.2L), and the best water wetter mix ratio being 1 ounce per quart, and the recommended 15% coolant mix (for my hot weather), i've worked out the following mix:
Motorcraft Premium gold coolant: 0.6 gal (2.27L)
Redline Water Wetter: 0.125 gal (473ml)
Distilled Water: 3.275 gal (12.4L)
so i removed the overflow tank cap, and removed the radiator drain bolt..
coolant started rushing out into an oil collector under the car, and when it stopped i tried to blow into the overflow tank.
that did push a whole lot of more coolant out, till i got to the point that i was blowing straight through (by the sound of it!)
in any case, i left this while working to change my motor mounts, and got back to it half an hour later or so, and it had stopped dripping completely.
so i closed the drain bolt and started filling up.
all the coolant went in
all the water wetter in
and only 1.5 gal of water went in before the overflow tank filled up
i cranked up the engine and the water level in the overflow tank went down an inch or so, and the engine started to heat up, so i turned it off and topped it up with some more water till the tank was full again
i repeated the process a couple times, and finally barely managed to squeeze in something like quarter a gallon of water if not less.
at that point i started the engine and removed the coolant temp sensor from the middle of my whipple water cross (it's almost like the stock unit, with a bleeding nozzle which i've removed and installed the Autometer coolant temp sensor instead, as it fit right in)
and -for the lack of better options- proceeded to blow into the coolant reservoir
air started coming out of the top of the water cross, then as coolant started squirting out, i fit the sensor back in.
the overflow tank level went down by a couple inches, so i filled it up with water and called it a day.
sure enough my car runs a lot cooler
i went for a drive around town, gunned it quite a few times expecting the coolant temp to jump up to 225F or so (which it used to).. it barely got to 195, fans kicked in.. and less than a minute after i eased off the pedal (still coasting on the highway) the coolant temp went back down to 180
beautiful!
but it's pretty obvious my coolant mix is still not right, as i ended up mixing frensh coolant and water wetter, and a little bit of water with a couple galons of stale coolant (which has gold coolant, water and water wetter too!)
i know it's almost impossible to drain ALL the coolant out without taking the engine apart, but i'm sure there has to be a way to drain at least most of it..
any ideas?
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